Impact Investing Ghana (IIGh) and the Ghana Investment Support Programme funded by British International Investment (BII) have announced a partnership to increase the capacity of Fund Managers and Transaction Advisors in Ghana.

Although Ghana's Private Equity and Venture Capital (PE/VC) industry is robust and growing, there is room for improvement in the areas of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) management, as well as impact measurement and management (IMM) practices.

Additionally, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana require support to reach the standards necessary for PE/VC funding(“investor readiness”).

This requires Transaction Advisors that offer high-quality, affordable advisory services in line with Fund Manager requirements, hence the partnership.

The partnership will include mapping and capacity building for transaction advisors and connecting businesses and funds with transaction advisors as part of IIGh’s Deal Source Africa program. It will also include capacity building on IMM and ESG for fund managers.

The first Transaction Advisors Ghana Workshop, a collaborative initiative by IIGh and BII through its Ghana Investment Support Programme (GISP) was held on May 16, at Labadi Beach Hotel.

It empowered transaction advisors with valuable insights, knowledge-sharing opportunities and industry connections.

The outcomes of the Transaction Advisors Ghana Workshop saw 25 Transaction Advisory companies and 37 Transaction Advisors' capacities built on Investment Readiness, Due Diligence and ESG.

Kwabena Asante Poku, Ghana Coverage Director expressed his excitement about the partnership that will enhance the Private Equity/Venture Capital ecosystem in Ghana and support more capital flow into underserved SMEs.

“Our joint efforts aim to improve the industry's standards while promoting ESG and IMM practices. This will help SMEs achieve investor readiness and attract more funding to Ghana. By empowering SMEs and improving ESG practices, we can create sustainable economic impact”, he added.

Amma Lartey, CEO of Impact Investing Ghana said, "Research done by IIGh identified insufficient transaction advisory services as a major gap holding back the flow of financing for SMEs.

"It also identified increasing the capacity of fund managers and other ecosystem players on impact measurement and management and ESG as an opportunity.

"We are delighted to partner with BII to begin to fill these gaps and are looking forward to seeing this increased capital flowing to SMEs and contributing to positive economic and social transformation."